Pokémon: The Journey of Elijah
by Heiwa-teki kuki
Summary: Follow the feisty ten-year-old trainer Elijah on his journey through Unova as he finds his true self. A story of friendship, enlightenment, conflict, and possibly love. OC, Rated T just in case, as I'm not sure where I'm going to take this story. I suck at summaries, just take ten minutes of your time to read my story, please. I DO NOT own Pokémon or its plot and characters.
1. Chapter 1

_ Here in the Unova region, getting a starter Pokémon is like beginning a new era, taking your first breath, or being born again. It makes a person new and refreshed. Of course, when you're ten, you don't think of it that way, do you? All that you can think is how long you've waited for this moment; your journey with Pokémon! It is all so exciting for every new trainer! That, of course, is why I chose the always rewarding job of being a Pokémon Professor. Changing a child's life is always such a rewarding experience! However, the story that I am going to be telling is not about my journey as Professor Linden, this is the story of me as a young ten-year-old boy named Elijah, embarking on the journey that will change everything that he knew about himself. A journey that will make him an adult._

"Woohoo!" I yelled, "Today, I get to be a Pokémon Trainer! Yeah!"

It was just an average summer day; the Sun was shining, the air was thick, and it was perfect weather for swimming. However, I had something else on my mind. Today was the day that I had been waiting for my whole life, because today I was going to get a starter Pokémon from Professor Juniper's lab! Boy, was I excited. I just couldn't wait to start my journey as a Pokémon Trainer!

"Keep it down, Elijah, or you'll have to deal with your baby sister when she wakes up!" My mom said as she popped her head through my bedroom door. My baby sister Francesca was only two.

"Sorry Mom, I just can't wait to go to the lab!" I said, the tone of my voice escalating. My mother shushed me, but I just ignored her as I grabbed my backpack and skipped into the kitchen. After my mom fixed my crazy blond hair and made sure that I had everything packed, I put on my cap, said my goodbyes, and left on my bicycle to Professor Juniper's lab. After all, we only lived a few blocks away.

I was so giddy with excitement that I even fell off of my bike a few times.

Once I reached the lab, I set my bicycle against the sandy bricks and rushed inside, pushing away the door in front of me. The lab was very expansive and spacious, and had a very serious aura. There were a few men in white coats working on machinery and computers that all looked foreign to me. I felt very out of my element, but I had a feeling that everything would seem very strange and new to me on my journey. Wondering where I was supposed to go and how to get there, I approached one of the men and said in a hushed manner, as if I was in a library "Hi, I'm Elijah Linden, and I'm here to get my starter Pokémon today."

"Oh, of course," the man said in a warm, comforting voice, "Please, follow me Mr. Linden. Professor Juniper has been expecting you."

Doing as I was told, I followed the man into a much smaller room where there were already some Pokémon out of their Pokéballs. I looked around the cozy room, and I realized that I wasn't the only soon-to-be trainer there. There was Professor Juniper of course; the thin woman with warm green eyes, but there was also a girl that looked about the same age as me. She was playing with what looked like a very snobby grass Pokémon that did not seem at all interested in the girl. The girl was very pretty; she had large, intense brown eyes and crazy auburn hair tied into two pony tails restrained by a yellow bandana. She sighed as the Pokémon crossed its arms and went towards the Professor. The other Pokémon was a small blue otter-like Pokémon that had a very curious nature. It looked at the girl as if she were some strange, alien creature from Mars. It walked up to her and stood before her, looking up in awe. "Let's see, what Pokémon are you?" the girl asked as she held up a device that looked like some sort of tablet.

The girl pointed the device at the Pokémon, and the tablet said something inaudible to me. "Oh, so you're an Oshawott, right? And you know the moves Tackle and Tail Whip, huh? That's so cool!" the girl exclaimed, "How would you like to travel with me, Oshawott?"

The Oshawott smiled and ran around excitedly, and exclaimed, "Osh, Oshawott!"

"Well then I guess that's settled," Professor Juniper said, "Oshawott will be your first Pokémon!"

"Professor Juniper?" the man who showed me in here said, "Elijah Linden is here to see you about his starter Pokémon."

"Thank you, sir." Professor Juniper said, and with a nod, the man left. "Well hello there, Elijah. It's very nice to see you. I've been expecting you! I bet you're very excited to be here this fine morning. Well, without further ado, let's get started! But first… Olivia, would you like to introduce yourself to Elijah?" Professor Juniper said to the girl that was still on the ground playing with her Oshawott.

So her name is Olivia, and she's a new trainer, too! Olivia stood up, brushed off her purple dress, took out a Pokѐball, and said, "Oshawott, return!"

There was a red light that surrounded the Pokémon as it disappeared into its Pokѐball. Olivia carefully placed the red sphere into the bag that was slung around her shoulder. She then faced me, held out her hand, and as I shook it, she said, "Hey! I'm Olivia Newton. And you're Elijah, right? Hmm, well I'm going to call you Eli, is that okay? Of course it is! I don't even know why I'm asking. Anyways, I hope that you find a Pokémon that you like! You see, I have an Oshawott here. The other choices are-"

"Olivia, please. I'm the Professor here, right?" Professor Juniper said, relieved that Olivia had stopped talking, "Anyways, Eli. I have other things than just a Pokémon to give you. Here is your Pokédex and Pokéballs."

"Awesome! Now I have a Pokédex just like Olivia!"

"Yep!" Olivia exclaimed.

"Check out you're Pokédex, it's really quite cool. On it, you can check and see information on all different kinds of Pokémon here in the Unova region! It should really help you on your journey."

I slid open my Pokédex and pointed it at the grass Pokémon that Olivia was trying to play with before. The Pokédex screen then lit up with pictures and information about this Pokémon. The Pokédex then spoke, in a monotonous and robotic voice. It said, "Snivy, the Grass Snake Pokémon. Cool, calm, and collected, Snivy uses photosynthesis to collect energy with the leaf on its tail."

"Sni-VY!" Snivy said snootily as it turned its back to me.

"Well, it doesn't seem to like me," I said, disappointed, "Do you have any other Pokémon?"

"I'm afraid that somebody else came by earlier and took the other starter, Tepig, that we had. Well, I'll think of something. Just give me a minute; I'll be back right away!" Professor Juniper said as she sped away into another room.

"I'm sure that she'll be right back with another Snivy or something, Eli. Don't worry!" Olivia cheered, reading my emotions.

"I bet that you're right, Olivia," I said hopefully, "Hey, can I see your Oshawott?"

Olivia said yes and then brought out her Oshawott. I looked it up on the Pokédex and played with it until a thought dawned on me. "Hey Olivia," I said "Where are you from, anyway? I've never seen you around town."

"Oh yeah, well I live in Striaton City with my brothers Cilan, Chili and Cress. They're actually the Gym Leaders of Striaton City!" She cried with excitement.

"Wow, that's so cool," I said, "Maybe we'll get to battle them one day!"

Olivia and I made conversation and asked each other questions until Professor Juniper came back in with another Pokéball. "I can assure you, this is no regular occurrence. Usually things go so smoothly, so I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Eli. I had to call my good friend Professor Oak and have him transfer a Pokémon all the way from the faraway Kanto region. This little guy that you are about to receive is no common Pokémon in the Unova region, so I hope that you see this as a positive!" Professor Juniper smiled, and said "Without further ado, Eevee, come on out!"

From the Pokéball came an adorable, brown Pokémon. "Wow, how cool! I wonder what it is," I cried as I held up my Pokédex.

"Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon. Eevee is a unique Pokémon that can adapt to its environment by changing its form and abilities when evolving."

"According to what Professor Oak told me about Eevee, it has 7 different evolved forms! Depending on what it is exposed to, Eevee will evolve when it has reached a high enough level. Isn't that amazing?" Professor Juniper informed excitedly.

"Wow! Hey there, Eevee. What do you think of all of this? Do you want to travel with me?" I asked as I knelt down in front of the bushy brown Pokémon before me.

Eevee approached me and climbed into my lap, analyzing every inch of my body. It climbed up on its hind legs, and rested its front paws on my chest as it stared at me right in the eyes, as if searching my soul. It then curled up in my lap, as if showing approval. "So does that mean that I passed, Eevee?" I questioned.

Eevee looked up at me, and replied with a very astute "Eve, Eevee."

"Alright then, Eevee, Return," I commanded as I held out Eevee's Pokéball, but nothing seemed to happen. Eevee just crawled out of my lap and hissed at the Pokéball like an angry cat.

"How interesting," Professor Juniper observed, "Eli, there are certain Pokémon that dislike being in Pokéballs. There may be no reason for this, as us humans do not understand many Pokémon habits. Will you be okay with just carrying Eevee out of its Pokéball with you?"

Confused, I considered for a moment. What if I lost track of Eevee, or if it decided to wander off somewhere? What if somebody stole him while I wasn't paying attention? However, it is a huge privilege to have Eevee traveling with me as it is very rare in the Unova region… "Of course," I said to Professor Juniper, "Why wouldn't I? If Eevee doesn't like being in its Pokéball, that's cool with me."

"Eevee Eve!" Eevee said happily as it hopped onto my shoulder.

"That's settled then; you will go on your journey with Eevee. I hope you two get really strong, and battle your way to the Unova League!" Professor Juniper said.

As soon as Professor Juniper explained everything that there is to know about Pokémon to Olivia and me, she sent us off onto Accumula town, the next town over, which was about an hour walk. Determined to get through it before sunset, I started off on my journey, hoping for the best.

This sure would be great. It would be just me and Eevee, setting off on the trek of a lifetime. Of course, it was only just the two of us until I realized that Olivia was walking only a few feet behind me, trying to catch up with me slowly. _Oh well, _I thought, _Olivia can do whatever she wants. I just want to get to Accumula town as fast as I can!_

Olivia had other plans.

"Eli! Hey, Eli!" she called.

I could hear her, but since I was looking forward to a little bit of alone time, I just kept walking, picking up my pace. Hopefully she would eventually give up.

"ELI! Wait up!" Olivia yelled as she ran up to me and tapped me on the shoulder.

Sighing, I gave up and turned around to her. "What is it, Olivia?"

"Let's have a battle!" she exclaimed.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oshawott, come on out!" Olivia said as she threw Oshawott's Pokéball into the air. There was a flash of red light, and then Oshawott appeared, and cried out happily with an "Osh, Oshawa!"

"Alright, do you want to battle Oshawott, Eevee?" I asked the flocculent animal perched on my shoulder. It jumped onto the ground, and replied in a very serious tone, "Eevee Eve," as if to say yes as it crouched into a battling position.

"Do you know what moves Eevee can use?" Olivia questioned curiously.

"Huh?" I said, confused. I then thought back to when I was at the lab, looking up Eevee on my Pokédex. "Moves? Oh, right. Eevee knows Tackle and Sand-Attack." I said definitely.

"Awesome! Well, I'll start if you don't mind. Oshawott, use Tackle!" Olivia demanded, and Oshawott complied by running at full speed towards Eevee.

I panicked, which wasn't wise as this was Eevee's first battle as well as mine. Going through my options, I realized that I only had a few seconds before Oshawott was going to collide with Eevee. "Eevee, dodge it!" I commanded.

Eevee tried to dodge, but it was too late. Oshawott and Eevee collided, and Eevee was pushed back onto my feet. "Eevee, are you alright?" I worried. Eevee mustered his courage and his strength as he pushed himself back on his feet, ready to take another hit. Confident that Eevee would be alright, I said, "Alright, my turn to make a move. Eevee, use Sand-Attack!"

Eevee kicked up earth at Oshawott, and as it hit Oshawott in the face, the poor thing started coughing and rubbing at its eyes. Olivia didn't seem to notice the Pokémon's struggles, so she commanded, "Oshawott, use Tackle once again!"

In desperation, Oshawott tried to open its eyes, but realized that it wouldn't be possible yet. The small otter Pokémon used Tackle in trying to please its trainer, but had no idea that what he thought was Eevee was actually a nearby tree. Rubbing its head from the surprise collision, Oshawott fought to get up and continue battling. _This was my chance, I had this battle in the bag, _I thought. "Eevee, finish things up with Tackle attack!" I cried.

Thinking on her feet, Olivia cried in desperation, "Oshawott, duck!"

Doing as he was told, Oshawott leaped forward onto its stomach, and Eevee flew above it, hitting the same tree that Oshawott had bashed into earlier. With a groaning "Eevee," Eevee slumped to the ground in defeat. "Oh, no!" I cried as I ran to Eevee's aid. I scooped him up and held him close, and asked if he was alright.

"Here, use this," a mysterious voice said from behind me. I turned around, and saw a small, frail girl wearing a long, emerald-colored dress. She had flowing chocolate-brown hair with loose curls. She wore a bright blue flower above her ear that accented her warm green eyes. In her hand, she held a round blue berry that looked just perfectly ripe. "It's an Oran berry. It should help your Eevee heal up from that battle really fast!" She said with a meek smile as she slid her hair behind her ears.

"Thanks," I said with a bright smile, "I'm Elijah Linden, nice to meet you,"

"I'm Stacey Juan," she informed with a wave, "I'm from Driftveil city, and I just came here to get a Pokédex from Professor Juniper. You see, I received a Pokémon license from Professor Juniper's father who is also a Professor, but he didn't have a Pokédex to give me, sadly, so I only got Bubbles and a Pokémon license to start off."

"Excuse me," Olivia chimed in, "I'm Olivia, from Striaton City. I just can't help but realize that you look very familiar. Have you challenged the Striation Gym before? My brothers are the gym leaders," Olivia questioned amiably.

"The Striaton Gym? Oh, that battle was a piece of cake. Those weak trainers could never beat me and Bubbles!" She exclaimed aggressively.

In spite of Stacey not meaning to be personal, Olivia grew wild with anger. "How dare you call my brothers weak, they were probably just having an off day! I bet you're the real weak one here."

"Oh yeah, well I bet that you couldn't even harm a fly if you tried. From what I saw of your battle earlier, you don't have the skill or determination that a real trainer needs to succeed. I bet I could chew you up and spit you out without a second thought in battle!" Stacey challenged competitively.

Seeing the tension rise between the two, and seeing Stacey become extremely aggressive when the topic of battle came up, I tried to calm the two girls down by changing the subject. "Hey, Stacey," I called, "You keep referring to Bubbles. What is it?"

Still obviously agitated, Stacey looked away from Olivia, and flashed me a fake, toothy smile. "Bubbles is my number one companion. She's a Solosis, and also my starter Pokémon. I only have two Pokémon right now though, Bubbles and Glider. Glider's an Emolga; I caught him on my way here."

Curious, I took out my Pokédex and looked up Solosis. The Pokédex said, "Solosis, the Cell Pokémon. A membrane filled with fluid surrounds Solosis's body which allows it to live anywhere. It defeats its enemies using its formidable Psychic-type powers."

I looked up Emolga next, and the Pokédex informed, "Emolga, the Sky Squirrel Pokémon. Emolga lives in trees and uses its cape-like membrane to glide through the air."

"That's awesome," I smiled, relieved that some of the aggravation between the two girls had been toned down. I glanced at Olivia, and saw her leaning against a tree, making Oshawott return to his Pokéball. She appeared to be pouting like a little kid.

"How many Gym Badges do you have, Elijah?" Stacey questioned.

"Well, I just started my journey, Stacey. I only recently had my very first Pokémon battle with Olivia," I told, matter-of-factly, "Hey, I just had an idea," I said, realizing Olivia's still remaining anger as I saw her sulking, and grabbing onto her bag like a teddy bear, "Why don't you and Olivia have a battle once we get to Accumula City, Stacey? You two seem like you should get things settled."

Stacey appeared to be considering, as if going over her options in her head. She had a sudden realization, and the light in her eyes seemed to disappear. "I can't, sorry. I have to, uh, stay with Professor Juniper for a while. You see, she's my aunt, and my father…" Stacey said as she appeared to get lost in thought. There was sadness in her eyes, and she looked like a hallow shell of the eccentric girl that I saw before.

Worried and confused, but not aware of what I should or could do to help, I said, "That's okay then, we'll see you around."

I pulled Olivia off of the ground, and Eevee hopped back onto my shoulder. I started walking towards Accumula town with Olivia trailing close behind.

"Stacey, don't run off like that. You could have gotten lost," a deep, smooth voice called from behind us. All three of us turned around to see a tall, slender teenage boy. He had long, crazy chestnut hair tied back into a ponytail that flowed down to the middle of his back. He had a naturally cold look in his piercing ember eyes, and the corners of his mouth were downturned, giving him a snobby exposition. He wore sophisticated clothing, like glasses, a maroon tie, and skin-tight blue jeans that made him look even thinner.

"Sorry Landon, but I saw these two battling and I noticed that Elijah's Eevee was hurt, and I just had to help," Stacey cried, jumping back to life.

Landon approached us and shook both of Olivia's and my own hand. He then walked over to Stacey and rested his elbow on her shoulder. "Hello all, I am Landon, but please," he paused, analyzing Olivia and me from head to toe, "Call me Chance. Landon Chance Juan is my full name, but I prefer being called Chance, thank you."

Stacey, annoyed, shrugged off Chance's elbow, and said, "Landon is my older brother, but he hasn't gotten his Pokémon license yet, so he came with me to Professor Juniper's lab to get his starter Pokémon."

"Our father wouldn't allow us to travel when I was ten, but now that Stacey has convinced him, he had to let me go. Of course, I am fifteen now, so I'm getting a late start, but I still get to travel." Chance informed.

I smiled, but then looked at my watch to see that it was already three in the afternoon, and I had wanted to get to Accumula town ASAP. Thinking of a good way to leave, I grabbed Olivia's wrist, and said in a rushed manner as I continued my walk into the forest, "Alright, we're going to get going to Accumula town now. See you around, I'm sure!"

* * *

Once I had gotten to a steady pace, the walk to Accumula town was a piece of cake. Olivia tended to chatter nonstop, but as soon as I was able to tune out the extraneous noise, it was as if I was taking a leisurely walk by myself. Sometimes I even got too caught up in my thoughts, and I wouldn't even realize the fact that Olivia was saying something important, although she rarely did. It was rather peaceful, walking through the woods. Occasionally I would come upon a wild Patrat or two, but nothing too interesting happened. Eevee was very curious, as he would run up to foreign objects and analyze them carefully before full out exploring. I guess I sometimes forget that this is probably one of Eevee's first encounters with nature, as I had assumed by its careful manner and curiosity, that he was hatched and raised in captivity. This only made me respect Eevee more, as I could slowly feel our relationship and trust in each other grow.

Lost in thought, I somehow managed to walk right into a thorny bush. I felt my skin being pierced by thorns in several places. "YOUCH!" I yelled out in pain while struggling in the bush, expecting Olivia to come running to my aid.

I looked up to see Olivia with her hands on her hips, shaking her head in disapproval. "Weren't you listening to me? I told you that the path went right, not straight! Stop being such a dork and listen next time," She scolded with a sigh as she pulled me out of the bush.

I rolled my eyes secretly as I pulled myself together. Realizing that I had a few thorns stuck in my clothes, I went to work, slowly picking them out. Once I was finished, I checked to make sure that Eevee was alright before continuing walking. I looked at my feet as Eevee was not perched on my shoulder as usual, but he was nowhere to be found. I looked around in desperation, and when I decided that I had lost sight of him, I asked Olivia to help me.

The both of us looked around in the trees, on the ground, even in the skies but we didn't see Eevee anywhere. Once I had started to lose hope and regret my decision of even accepting Eevee as my starter in the first place, Olivia called out to me from high in a tree that she had climbed, "Eli, I found Eevee,"

I ran over to the tree and looked up in search of Eevee. I saw two small brown Pokémon shuffling in the branches. "Are you sure that's Eevee?" I asked.

"I'm pretty sure, yes," Olivia replied with shaky confidence.

Just then both of the Pokémon lost their footing and fell off of the tree. Acting fast, I ran over and caught them just in time. I looked at the Pokémon in my arms and realized that one was a wild Patrat and the other was my Eevee. Relieved jet confused, I checked the two Pokémon for any sign of injury, but they both seemed fine. "I think they were fighting," Olivia said, climbing down the tree, "They seemed to be having quite a quarrel."

Looking down at the two Pokémon, I realized that the wild Patrat seemed rather upset, and seemed to be preparing to attack. Thinking on my toes, I scooped up the Patrat in my hands and held it tight until it stopped squirming and settled down. "Maybe Eevee went into Patrat's territory," Olivia speculated, jumping off of the base of the tree, "That's probably why Patrat is so mad. Eevee must have gotten too curious and explored a bit too far in Patrat's home."

Nodding, as this was a logical assumption, I thought of a way for Patrat to completely calm down, as it was still quite angry at Eevee. Then a thought dawned on me. But first, I had to make sure that Patrat wouldn't hurt me. "Hey, Patrat," I said to the small, brown, chipmunk-looking Pokémon, "I'm Elijah, and this is my companion, Eevee. I'm so sorry that he went into your home. I'm sure he meant no harm, he was just curious. Please forgive us."

The wild Pokémon looked around at me in confusion, as something like this has probably never happened to him before. He cautiously bowed his head in what seemed to be forgiveness, and backed away a few steps as he appeared to be calming down. "Why don't Patrat and Eevee battle?" Olivia offered, "I'm sure that it would be great practice for Eevee. It would probably make Patrat feel a lot more at peace as well."

"You just took the words from my mouth, Olivia," I replied excitedly, "Hey Eevee, what do you think?" I asked the bushy brown Pokémon now perched on my shoulder.

He replied with a happy, "Eevee!" as he hopped onto the ground and faced Patrat in a battle position.

"I'll be the referee of this battle," Olivia said as she stepped up between Eevee and Patrat. Patrat showed that he understood that there would be a battle by getting into a menacing battle position. "Alright, begin!" Olivia called out.

Patrat took the first move, as it lurched forward without warning and latched its teeth onto Eevee's back. Eevee, angered, shook Patrat off and showed no sign of injury. "I think that was bite," Olivia called out.

"Alright, we can do better than that. Eevee, use Tackle!" I called, hoping to retaliate and come out of this battle victorious.

Eevee ran towards Patrat, bracing itself for impact. Once Eevee got close to Patrat, though, a translucent shield appeared in front of it, protecting Patrat from being hit. Eevee hit the shield with surprising force, but did no damage to Patrat. Eevee bounced off of the shield, visibly annoyed and tired. "What was that move, Olivia?" I asked in awe.

"That was Detect I think," Olivia informed.

"Alright then, Eevee, use Sand-Attack once Patrat's Detect wears off!" I commanded once Eevee got back onto its feet.

Eevee did as it was told, but nothing seemed to happen. Patrat still seemed as strong as when the battle had started. "Huh, maybe Patrat has some ability that makes it impossible to lower its accuracy. That would make sense as to why Sand-Attack did nothing." Olivia said.

Thinking fast, I said "Okay Eevee, use Tackle then."

Eevee started to run towards Patrat, and he gradually started to pick up speed. He started going unnaturally fast, catching Patrat off guard. It was nearly impossible to see Eevee as he collided with Patrat at lightning speed. Once the dust kicked up by Eevee's running cleared, I saw that Patrat had been defeated. "What was that? How did Eevee move so fast?" I asked Olivia in awe.

"I think Eevee learned Quick Attack! That's awesome!" Olivia exclaimed.

"Wow, nice job Eevee," I said to the furry Pokémon that had returned to my shoulder. I looked into the sky and realized that the sun was beginning to set. "Patrat looks hurt; I think we should take him to Accumula Town's Pokémon Center with us."

With a nod, Olivia scooped up the weak-looking chipmunk Pokémon in her arms, and she carried it with her as we continued our walk to Accumula town.

* * *

**A/N: This story is so much fun to write! I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can. Thanks for the support of the first chapter, guys! Make sure to keep the reviews coming! I want to also give Mulunia credit for coming up with the idea of Stacey. Thanks readers, cya next chapter!**


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